The criticism of the Ministry of Health’s plans for upper order limits for the Biontech vaccine continues. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Schwesig now joined the critics: “I no longer understand Minister Spahn’s back and forth.”
Because the demand for the Biontech vaccine is increasing and at the same time stocks of Moderna’s competing product are threatening to run out, the Executive Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) decided to increasingly rely on Moderna for the booster campaign and to limit the orders for Biontech . Even a day later, the criticism persists.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has criticized Spahn for the announced limitation of deliveries of Biontech vaccine against Covid-19. “One day after Chancellor Merkel called for all of them to be boosted as quickly as possible, the Ministry of Health threw chunks into the vaccination gear,” Schwesig told “Bild am Sonntag”. “I no longer understand Minister Spahn’s back and forth.” Schwesig demanded that the project be withdrawn “immediately”.
Sharp criticism
In a letter to the federal states, the Federal Ministry of Health announced restrictions on order quantities for the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer so that the Moderna preparation can be used more frequently for booster vaccinations. Otherwise, stored Moderna cans threatened to expire from the middle of the first quarter of 2022, which must be avoided. For the time being, practices should be able to order a maximum of 30 doses of Biontech per week, vaccination centers and mobile vaccination teams 1020 doses. There should be no upper limits for orders from Moderna.
Politicians from the CSU, FDP, SPD and Greens had sharply criticized the project. One allegation was that it was stalling the booster campaign. The medical profession also warned of an increased need for advice on the part of patients. It is feared that people who have already made booster appointments with Biontech might hesitate when they are offered Moderna, and that many inquiries result in significant additional work in the practices.
Promote Moderna
Spahn had regretted a possible additional expense. He told the German Press Agency on Saturday: “I know that this short-term changeover means a lot of additional stress for many committed helpers on site in the doctor’s surgeries and vaccination centers. And I expressly regret that.” The demand for Biontech has increased so much in the last two weeks that the warehouse is empty very quickly. He emphasized that with Biontech and Moderna there are two excellent and highly effective vaccines. “I can promise that anyone who wants to be vaccinated will get a good, safe, and effective vaccine.” In some studies on the effect of booster vaccinations, a third vaccination with Moderna even performed better than one with Biontech.
Studies show that the protection against infection with Sars-CoV-2 in vaccinated persons diminishes over time. With a refresher, the protection can be noticeably improved again.
“On the one hand, a booster protects the vaccinated person very well against illness, but it also helps to break other chains of infection,” said Biontech founder Ugur Sahin of “Bild am Sonntag”. That could help us through the difficult winter ahead. He said at the same time that the Biontech vaccination protection began to decrease “from the fourth month”. Recently published studies showed, however, that the protection against severe corona disease is very high up to the ninth month.
Source From: Stern
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